Years of cloning issues. Need some assistance

Been having the same cloning issues for years. Fungus. It starts small in between the new sites. Then works its way up, or down the clone. First it starts to brown, then blacken, then the fuzz starts. This happens to almost every strain I have worked with.

Very few survive after 4 weeks. I can't seem to get roots sooner before they all die. Let me tell you exactly what I do from start to finish.

I wash all the domes with soap and rinse out the trays with hot water. The trays are the 72 (12 x 6) site ones. Domes have 2 closable holes on the top. The trays are put inside a 5 x 2 closet with slotted sliding doors. Not very much air movement and two 25 watt CFL's giving off heat. Temps are about 80 to 85 in there. Temps are about 78 to 80 with doors open. (I just started doing this)

I take the clones near the 4th node and do an angle cut there. I trim some of the bigger leaves at the ends. Sometimes I take off the 3rd node if they are too low. I take the Rapid Rooters and squeeze each one until a bit of water comes out. They are now just moist instead of soaking wet. I then split them open so I can lay the clone in gently and not lose any gel.

I place the cut tips into Clonex gel and then place the clones into the Rapid Rooter. I will usually place about 15 clones under one dome. I lightly mist the Dome and the clones with RO water and then put the dome on.

The light I use is a 25 watt CFL about 2 inches from the top of the dome. Sometimes the clones will drop overnight but they usually come back. I refrain from misting them more but if they don't respond in a few days I will hit them with another mist. After 5 days I will start to give them air for a minute or so then close the dome.

Usually, within 7 days, I will start to notice the tiny new sites turning brown. Usually near the lowest node. Not on all the clones but a few of them. It gets worse after that and by 2 weeks 50% are now infected and still no roots.

I have tried not misting them at the start. I have tried letting them dry out at 2 weeks. Sometimes this works but by then the clone is usually fully infected and dies even if it has roots. I've tried leaving the water in the Rapid Rooters and then I have the mushy stem problem and they die that way. I've tried using tap water and the same thing happens.

This only happens with clones. My seedlings grow awesome. My veg grows awesome. My flowers grow awesome. My clones bite the dust and I'm clueless to what's going on.

Can it be too hot? Can it be too airless? I've tried opening the top of the dome sooner but then I notice within a few hours that they dry out and I have to reclose the dome.

I started leaving the sliding doors open this week. I'm hoping that more air movement will do something. Maybe the air is not fresh and the water in the new nodes accumulates and gets the fungus. I really don't know. Some are still dying but they may have been infected already because the doors were closed for the first full week.

I think I've explained everything and given examples of what I tried so far. If anyone can help me fix this I would greatly appreciate it. I'm willing to change a few things but getting any water type cloning device is a no no.

Thanks

stop using a dome, stop using a dome, stop using a dome. That's the short answer, they promote excellent conditions for mold, the cutting will get its water through the stem and only needs slight humidity, misting will also promote fungal growth

As soon as I pull the dome off they fall down and wither. They dry out and die. No matter how wet the Rapid Rooters are.

Hotwired said:

wet the Rapid Rooters are.

Click to expand...

until you're out of rapid rooters;
make sure to know your water, dunk cube, squeeze a bit, remove from water gently squeeze. put the rooter into a little cup, jello shot,shot glass etc, with drains dollar general is your friend.

cutting should be taken right below a node, use the node to cut as a barb(I do), any node, away from the dirt and clean. not hollow stiff ones, not lanky bendy ones either, somewhere in between, scissors/scalpel is dipped in bleach or alcohol before using.
scrap the cut end gently to expose the cambium layer(little bit whitish) where the stem cells are. poke a hole, I use a wire, into the cube, dip cut end into a new spot on a cutting board, not into the clonex jar, and poke into that hole.

place into dry dome, mist with known water once, cover with vents open. air must be moving around the dome gently, lights can be high to control heat. dont open the dome until they stand up. check for roots periodically by looking into the little cup. dont touch the plant, dont feed anything. water when the top of that cube looks dry several days later. transplant.

your issue is
too much heat
not enough air
too much water
too much humidity

dont give up.
when you're almost out of those rooters see my thread (F@ck rapid rooters)

Your cloning gel is contaminated?

Your closet you put the clones in is a damp microscopically 'dirty' place harbouring fungus throwing their spores?

Your incoming air or just air in general of the area you live has many airborne fungus microscopically around you getting into your place?

The tools you use are not sterile?

Everything you're doing even though you think is not overly wet maybe you keep things too moist which then harbours fungus/disease etc?

You take too long or leave them out too long after cutting and before placing into the tray allowing for an air bubble to get into the plant and if not dying right away they just become so weak just waiting for fungus attack? unlikely.

Your water is contaminated that is fine for established plants but when doing cuttings is just too much for them?

(Things off the top of my head.)

chemphlegm said:

until you're out of rapid rooters;
make sure to know your water, dunk cube, squeeze a bit, remove from water gently squeeze. put the rooter into a little cup, jello shot,shot glass etc, with drains dollar general is your friend.

cutting should be taken right below a node, use the node to cut as a barb(I do), any node, away from the dirt and clean. not hollow stiff ones, not lanky bendy ones either, somewhere in between, scissors/scalpel is dipped in bleach or alcohol before using.
scrap the cut end gently to expose the cambium layer(little bit whitish) where the stem cells are. poke a hole, I use a wire, into the cube, dip cut end into a new spot on a cutting board, not into the clonex jar, and poke into that hole.

place into dry dome, mist with known water once, cover with vents open. air must be moving around the dome gently, lights can be high to control heat. dont open the dome until they stand up. check for roots periodically by looking into the little cup. dont touch the plant, dont feed anything. water when the top of that cube looks dry several days later. transplant.

your issue is
too much heat
not enough air
too much water
too much humidity

dont give up.
when you're almost out of those rooters see my thread (F@ck rapid rooters)

Click to expand...

i should probably rephrase my response "don't use a dome improperly" as they do in fact work just fine if done correctly. I quit having this guys problems when i stopped the dome and mist, but with no dome and such a small medium like rooters i can see why they dry so fast. To remedy this i started burying more stem and using a solo cup of wet jiffy instead of tiny cell rooters, usually one water is all it takes the whole time

In my opinon next time treat them like shit! Have the soil/cubes/rapidrooters, whatever you use all ready to go so all you have to do is stick cutting in, and just take the cutting off the plant, mmake a 45 degree cut and stick it in making sure to have at least 1 node under the surface and put a dome on it under some weak flourescents far away first day, closer next, and right up to the dome after that. Don't spray them, the moisture in the tray will cause all the humidity you need in there, after several days/about a week, remove dome, use dome as a fan sweeping it to give air to them, put dome back, wait.

The cuttting of the leaves is an entrance for fungus. try not to. also it puts the plants energy to seal that site and fight infection instead of where we want energy to go.

Also, Do not take cutting off a plant that has just been fed with high doses of Nitrogen veg ferts, it's better after a few clean watering that timing to take the cuts, or after a higher P bloom typoe food, this will quicken the rooting process.

Try a method that doesn't involve a dome. Although obviously you have issues with something because many folks use domes without mould. But take the dome out of the situation and the risk factors are reduced.

I will ad a couple things that have mostly already been said

your to hot... keep it below 80

don't ever mist them

keep your light further away

only leave 1 set of medium fan leaves and if theyre huge, cut them down smaller

I use a dome, it might depend on the environment and the humidity but if I didn't use a dome my clones would also fall over
I remove the dome by the 7th day usually, depending on humidity.. if you see heavy condensation on the lid or on the clones remove it (the lid) for a few minutes and then put it back

lastly and most importantly;
make sure your donors/mothers are healthy
if the donor plant has a fungus or mold that would explain everything
just because you can t see it doesn't mean its not on the plant

see how the dome isn't all fogged up and the cuttings aren't covered in dew

none of the leaves are pressed against the plastic edges and the fan leaves that are super big got the tips cut off

Brah follow this guide:

http://www.growweedeasy.com/cloning-marijuana-guide

Basically i follow that sloppily.... sterilize everything with rubbing alcohol and do a simple rinse.

The dome, razor, scissors....everything...

i use BRAND new clonex gel each time to dip the stem into.... if you have a container NEVER dip stem into the gel pour some out and then use that.

i sloppily throw em in the humidity dome, and leave both vents open after the 1st day.

I mist the dome AND the plants.... LOTSA humidity! with 20-30 min a day of fresh air....

then spray em down 2x a day.

remember... if yer clone hasn't wilted and died away...it HAS A CHANCE!

I had clones take a month to grow roots, I've had some in 2 weeks.

don't fuck with them at all... don't touch them, done move them, don't try and improve them leave them the fuck alone and just spray em down 2x a day with distilled water and wait...

its not a matter of IF they will grow, it's a matter of WHEN! (as long as they haven't wilted away)

GL bruh!

I don't sterilize anything. I just rinse tray and tools with hot water. My temps run around 80 to 85 degrees. I keep a dome on them until they root. My tray sits alongside my veg table and receives no direct lighting. I add a little seaweed juice and peroxide to the water in my tray. and I check them every couple of days to make sure they are evenly moist, not wet. I spray them with a weak solution of Green Cleaner to prevent mold and pests. Hardly ever lose one, and they usually root in 7-10 days.

I just cut and put in soil in a solo cup. If need be I put a piece of a water bottle on.

A couple weeks after rooting.

Don't make it complicated. Putting them in a cup of water will work. About 50% success rate. I've found that smaller cuts work better.